The National‘s 2017 album ‘Sleep Well Beast’ was the result of a range of significant changes for the iconic (and often divisive) alternative rock outfit.
For one, the band left their long-standing base in Brooklyn behind, spreading out abroad after wrapping up touring duties for their acclaimed 2013 record ‘Trouble Will Find Me’. Frontman Matt Berninger relocated to Los Angeles with his wife (a former New York Times editor who remains a key assistant in his painstaking songwriting process), guitarist Bryce Dessner jetted over to Paris, and twin brother Aaron Dessner traded the chaos of New York City for the sleepier surrounds of Hudson. The change of pace and scenery inspired Aaron to build ‘Long Pond’, a community-focused studio that became not just the birthplace of ‘Sleep Well Beast’, but a symbolic new nerve centre for the band when they reunited in 2016 with fresh fire in their bones (there’s a reason it features on the front cover of the album).
The band’s international adventures and distinctly non-National side projects since ‘Trouble Will Find Me’ – psychedelic improvised jams, Hollywood film scores and buoyant experimental pop – also play into the more exploratory electronic elements at play on ‘Sleep Well Beast’. At the first of two highly anticipated shows at the Opera House Forecourt – a feat they also pulled off back in 2014 – the band lay down this new foundation loud and clear, kicking off their set with four back-to-back ‘Sleep Well Beast’ highlights. While the crestfallen piano-led opener “Nobody Else Will Be There” falls more in line with the classic ‘National’ sound, “The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness” ambushes all 6,000 of us with violent, lurching guitar lines, urgent rhythms and Berninger’s jarring but always fascinating stage presence. Framed by the glowing red trim of the forecourt stage and the chaotic VHS-style visuals onscreen, the Dessners tear through the track’s climactic solos in sync with booming live horns. With the whirring sci-fi-inspired opener of “Walk It Back” following closely behind, the synths that only bubbled underneath on their last few records burst out into the foreground, showcasing a group of previously self-confessed stubborn musicians more at ease and open to what a National song can be. It’s still familiar enough for all the faithful long-term fans, but we’re also witnessing a band who have reshuffled their standard blueprint and “opened a window to let some fresh air in” without losing any of their signature grit or vulnerability.
After flaunting their newfound boundaries with quiet confidence, the band roll straight into ‘Trouble Will Find Me’ highlight “Don’t Swallow The Cap”, which flows perfectly into the beloved “Bloodbuzz Ohio”, their signature drunken love-hate ode to Ohio. “Is anyone here from Ohio? I often think of Sydney as the…no, I really don’t,” Berninger jokes, before the stage is enveloped in blood-red beams of light and he’s wandering to and fro as if possessed by the alcoholic within the song. He channels that frenetic energy into the hypnotic war-cry chorus of ‘Boxer’ classic “Squalor Victoria”, before returning to two of the most heart-wrenching moments on ‘Trouble Will Find Me’: “I Need My Girl” and “This is the Last Time”. Under harsh shades of blue and red, Berninger leads the loudest singalongs of the night thus far, revisiting dark places along with thousands of adoring fans.
From there, The National take us back a decade or so with faithful renditions of ‘Cherry Tree’ opener “Wasp Nest”, their biting 2005 track “Secret Meeting”, and the pulsating “Conversation 16”. It’s a wonderfully nostalgic journey for those on the forecourt who have been with the band since their humble beginnings 20 years ago, showcasing their steady collective evolution as songwriters, musicians and collaborators. Before long, we’re thrust back into the present with another string of current tracks: the futuristic chime-laden “I’ll Still Destroy You”, the slow-burning “Born To Beg”, and “Turtleneck”, the most overtly abrasive rock anthem on the record. Backed by waves of wild technicolour beams, Berninger flails all over the stage, only returning to the mic stand to relentlessly fire through verses and choruses dripping in desperation. He doesn’t slow down for “Day I Die”, pausing midway to cast his half-finished drink into the crowd with the tiniest hint of a cheeky smile.
“Day I Die” is the last we hear of ‘Sleep Well Beast’-era The National; “Fake Empire” and its colossal horn-laden closer rings in the final act of this epic set, which has clearly been crafted for their diehard day-one followers. Rare live-only gem “Rylan”, barnstorming ‘Alligator’ closer “Mr November” and “Terrible Love” – arguably their most widely recognised anthem – all send the sea of bodies on the forecourt into a frenzy, with some mounting shoulders in between those bellowing every single word at the top of their lungs. Blinding white lights fire at full speed as the whole band throws their full weight behind their instruments, sending out reverb-drenched waves of energy that electrify the entire harbour. It all comes crashing down after one last resounding declaration of “It takes an ocean not to break”, and the applause is louder and prouder than ever before.
With the harrowing strings and gentle acoustic guitar lines of their 2004 ballad “About Today” floating in soon after, we are all lulled back to reality for one last moment with some of the finest songwriters and musicians in modern rock music. The National may have widened their stylistic and musical horizons for ‘Sleep Well Beast’, but their unshakeable penchant for brutally honest, unbelievably poetic reflections on the darker side of the human experience has remained completely intact.
Photos by Charl Anfield.